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White House bars media from Dalai Lama meeting

Published on NewsOK
Modified: February 21, 2014 at 6:53 pm •
Published: February 21, 2014

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House defended its decision Friday to bar reporters and photojournalists from a meeting between President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, while acknowledging the news media's legitimate interest in covering the two leaders' encounter.

Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama drew harsh criticism from China even before the meeting took place, and the White House appeared to be taking steps to keep it low-key to avoid further aggravating Beijing. Obama hosted the Dalai Lama in the White House's Map Room, rather than the Oval Office, where the president traditionally brings a visiting leader for a photo.

At the same time, after declining media requests to photograph the meeting, the White House released its own photograph of the meeting produced by an official government photographer.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said he understood the media's interest in covering the meeting with the Dalai Lama, a prominent world figure. But he said the decision not to allow access was consistent with past meetings Obama has held with the Buddhist monk.

"We have been working, as you know, to provide more access to photographers as well as to all of you," Carney told reporters. "In this case, we weren't able to do that, but we have been working on that effort."

He added that it was the Dalai Lama's choice to depart the White House without speaking to reporters who had gathered in anticipation that he might make some remarks.

Wary of aggravating tensions with China, previous administrations from both parties have restricted or prohibited news coverage of presidential meetings with the Dalai Lama. In the George W. Bush administration, journalists complained when the White House neither permitted photojournalists to cover the meeting nor released an official photo.